Automatic touch free dispensers or hands-free dispensers for paper towels of tissue paper or nonwoven are known on the market. The hands-free dispensers are electronically maneuvered, they store and advance the paper towel with different kinds of control devices, sensors and power sources available on the market, they are usually battery driven. Without touching the dispenser, i.e. hands-free, the user can get a paper towel that is feeded automatically by the electronic dispenser. Dispensers like this are commonly used in public lavatories for dispensing paper towels to users. The most common type of a powered, hands-free dispenser is a roll dispenser with different kind of sensors used to initiate the mechanisms for advancing the towel such that the next sheet is presented to the user. Some examples of different electronic hands-free roll towel dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,099, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,825, U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,262, U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,832, U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,291, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,655, WO 99/59457 and WO 00/63100. There is a wide range of various sensors used in the dispensers, such as IR sensors, radio frequency disruption sensors, capacity sensors, motion or light detectors, mechanical detectors, photoelectric cell or proximity detectors and so forth.
An internal source of energy within the dispenser is usually used, such as batteries. The rolls are often heavy and there is a friction and resistance for unrolling the paper, especially when the roll is accelerated there is a high demand of energy from the battery. Consequently there is a need for a strong paper in order to withstand the force necessary to start a full heavy roll to rotate. A strong paper usually has drawbacks in that the softness of the paper is low. The life time of the batteries are often short due to the heavy rolls, which require much power to rotate and to accelerate. In addition the hands-free dispensers for rolled paper towels demand a rather large space in the hand washing area due to the relatively big volume of the heavy paper rolls.
It is desirable that an electronic hands-free dispenser has a nice design, that it is not so bulky and space demanding and that it easily will fit into the room where it will be utilized by the users. Especially at public places such as washrooms, it is very useful to have smaller dispensers. Further, the maintenance should be kept at a low level, as well as the cost for the dispenser. Lower battery cost would also be an advantage. Also, the refill process for an attendant should be as easy as possible. These are problems often frequented with the prior hands-free dispensers. Looking into the desired properties for the towels, when you need to have a strong paper, the paper has a tendency to also be harsher and not so soft. It would be preferable for the users if a more soft paper could be used, which can be somewhat difficult since the electronic hands-free towel dispensers on the market today operate with hard wound rolls of paper.
An object of the invention according to the present claims is to provide solutions in order to reduce the above-mentioned problems and drawbacks. A further object is to provide an electronic hands-free dispenser that is less space demanding, has a nice flat design, that is cheaper and easier to use, maintain and refill and that the desired properties of the paper towels can be more freely chosen.